JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Big plays have long been a staple for the Jacksonville State University football program, and Saturday was no different as the Gamecocks hosted the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Gamecocks had eight plays of 15 or more yards while running out to a 21-6 lead in the first half, with big plays leading to each score. They had four such plays on their first drive, capped with a Zerrick Cooper 39-yard pass to Jamaris Hester.
Austin Kinsey's 28-yard touchdown run highlighted the second drive, and Cooper's 48-yard pass to tight end Trae Barry led to the third score. JSU had nine the week before in its opener after posting 115 plays of 20 or more yards last season.
The high mark was 2015, when the Football Championship Subdivision national runners-up had 129 big plays, capping a three-year run in which JSU had a combined 338 such plays.
UTC did not have a play longer than 19 yards in the first half. Freshman running back Ailym Ford posted back-to-back runs of 17 and 19 yards on the Mocs' first drive, with Bryce Nunnelly adding a 17-yard catch in the second quarter.
Grass tops in Alabama
JSU coach John Grass is the winningest head coach in Division I in the state of Alabama - by percentage. Entering Saturday, Grass had a record of 52-13 in six seasons leading the Gamecocks, an .800 winning percentage.
The mark is the fourth-best in the country in Division I, two spots ahead of Alabama's Nick Saban (233-63-1, .786) and one spot ahead of Clemson's Dabo Swinney (117-30, .796). Another current Football Bowl Subdivision coach holds the No. 1 spot, but Kansas State's Chris Klieman - tops at .849 - got most of his 73 wins against 13 losses at FCS giant North Dakota State.
Grass is No. 1 among current FCS coaches.
40 years and a day
Jim Reynolds, the radio voice the Mocs, is celebrating his 40th year covering UTC. Saturday's game marked the return to where it started for Reynolds, whose first game was UTC at Jacksonville State in 1980.
The Mocs won that one, 16-13, in the opener of what was an 8-3 season for coach Bill Oliver.
Reynolds, a Chicago native and University of Illinois State graduate, is also the voice of the UTC men's basketball team.
Rice settled in at JSU
Former Calhoun High School star Landon Rice's sidetracked collegiate career is in its third chapter at Jacksonville State, where the former Auburn University recruit has seemingly found his football home.
Rice, rated one of Georgia's top tight ends and an Under Armour All-American as a senior, was Auburn's first recruit in its 2016 class. He left the school after being accused of rape and ultimately being suspended, though official chargers were never brought.
Rice transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and played one season before signing with JSU. His signing, according to the Anniston Star, was met with protests. JSU administrators said they "conducted a very thorough investigation surrounding all of the facts" and cleared him to play.
The controversy has since quieted, and Rice has made a name for himself with the Gamecocks, starting 10 games in 2018 and making 18 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound redshirt junior, who did not dress Saturday, is expected to share playing time with junior Trae Barry, a 2018 first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.